“The brilliance of [Qandil’s] prose lies in its reflection of the complex emotions we endure when those we love disappoint us” — New Arab
Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, Empty Cages presents an urgent and raw confessional narrative examining memory, family, and loss across one woman’s lifetime.
The narrative begins with discovery of an old chocolate tin, then traces memories spanning the 1960s to present day. Central to the work is the mother-daughter relationship. Qandil documents growing up in a middle-class Egyptian family as the youngest child, witnessing declining family fortunes. The account encompasses her father’s addiction, her mother’s illness, her brothers’ failings, and multiple forms of violence and death—both literal and figurative.
The author’s voice remains unflinching throughout, balancing celebration with suffering, triumph with disappointment, demonstrating both commitment to truthfulness and disarming poetic sensitivity.